Geely and DRB Hicom ink Agreement to Build Automotive Hub in Malaysia

DRB Hicom, a Malaysian manufacturer, announced on Oct 10 that it has agreed with Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd to build an automotive hub in Malaysia. This comes after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in July that Geely will invest $10 billion in the western Malaysian town of Tanjung Malim to build an auto-making cluster.

"The (agreement) sets forth the underlying principles, governance framework and mutual commitment of the Automotive Hi-Tech Valley project," the DRB said in a press release.

The project will focus on manufacturing automobiles and high-technology components and parts for new energy vehicles, the company said, adding that it expects to attract investment from local and foreign firms. DRB is the majority shareholder of Malaysian carmaker Proton, in which Geely also has a 49.9 per cent stake.

Geely, or Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd., is a Chinese multinational automotive business headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Li Shufu, a Chinese billionaire entrepreneur, owns the corporation privately. It was founded in 1986 and joined the automobile business in 1997 through its subsidiary Geely Auto. With 1.328 million sales in China in 2021, Geely Auto is presently the seventh-largest automotive manufacturer in China. 2021 the business sold over 2.2 million cars globally, with over 17,926 plug-in electric vehicles sold in January 2022.